Leveraging outside specialized resources is core strategy in public accounting
Newly formed Indian-US joint venture wants to enhance and protect clients’ value with top-notch talent across the board, said Christine Robinson, Managing Director, overseeing operations, and Partner Gabe Torre, who have been cultivating this collaborative relationship between CPA firm Baker Tilly US, LLP, and India-based Pierian Services.
“We are here to enhance and protect our clients’ value, and we do that with top-notch talent across the board,” Robinson said on 20 Apr 2023 as the US-India JV BT Pierian was announced.
“Our BT Pierian team members receive the same intense training as Baker Tilly’s do, while strict compliance and data security measures are in place to give our clients complete confidence.”
“Leveraging outside specialized resources to get work done is a core strategy in public accounting,” added Deanna Merryfield, partner and complementary workforce leader at the advisory CPA firm Baker Tilly.
“With our organizational purpose to unleash and amplify talent, we are creating a welcoming and nurturing experience for everyone who works for us and with us — helping ensure we provide the highest level of service to our clients,” she said, announcing the JV with BT Pierian, that would be providing the US$1.3 billion US firm with a talented complementary workforce.
The venture, paired with internal Baker Tilly service centres and third-party vendors, comprises the firm’s complementary workforce, which enables Baker Tilly to quickly scale its service delivery capabilities with the right talent when the firm needs it the most.
BT Pierian consists of two legal entities, one that provides assurance and advisory work, and another that is focused on managed services, including tax, client accounting and other consulting services.
In this first phase of the relationship, the joint venture employs around 175 professionals who have joined Baker Tilly teams to tackle tax, assurance and client accounting work as well as other organizational projects.
“The joint venture will act as a force multiplier for both us and Baker Tilly, affording each of us an opportunity to tap into others’ strengths,” said CA. Gurunath Kanathur, Pierian Services co-founder and director, who leads the BT Pierian managed services entity.
Kanathur’s fellow co-founder and assurance and advisory partner Abhishek Gupta believes there is an opportunity to serve clients in new and different ways by scaling with a global workforce and optimizing talent.
Gupta leads the BT Pierian assurance and advisory entity.
On the Baker Tilly side, the joint venture is led by Merryfield with Robinson.
Pierian Services has been serving multinational firms for more than 20 years in the accounting and consulting spaces.
BT Pierian team members work in secure and segregated Pierian offices throughout India, including in Bangalore, Gurugram, Shivamogga, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Chennai.
Baker Tilly is a leading advisory CPA firm, providing clients with a genuine coast-to-coast and global advantage in major regions of the US and in many of the world’s leading financial centers – New York, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Baker Tilly is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, a worldwide network of independent accounting and business advisory firms in 145 territories, with 41,000 professionals and a combined worldwide revenue of US$4.7 billion. fiinews.com
